Staff Writer
The Valdosta Daily Times
VALDOSTA — RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Michelle Thompson and Tamika Booker led Valdosta State in scoring, but it was two points by Amanda Haven that gave the Lady Blazers a 50-49 win over Fort Valley State Friday.
Down 49-48, Haven caught the ball on the right side and drove to the basket. Her layup kept everyone in suspense as it teetered on the rim before falling through the basket with just 6.7 seconds left. The Lady Wildcats could not answer to save their season.
“It always feels great to make a game-winning shot, but if we had taken care of business throughout the game it wouldn’t have come down to that,” Haven said. “Still, I’m glad it went in and now we have to get ready for Delta State.”
The win advances VSU to the Round of 32 in the NCAA tournament. The Lady Blazers will face a familiar nemesis in the Lady Statesmen at 2 p.m. Sunday.
The game will be broadcast on 92.1 FM.
Thompson found her shot with three 3-pointers on the day to help her finish with 12 points and three steals. Booker finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and big free throws at the end. Sierra Nixon also crashed the boards for VSU with nine rebounds and three blocks. Leschelle Matthews went for eight points, seven assists, six rebounds and a steal in 39 minutes of play.
After holding Fort Valley State to just 18.5 percent shooting in the first half, VSU allowed the Lady Wildcats to shoot 53.6 percent to score 34 second half points.
The Lady Wildcats were down by 17 early in the second half but rallied to take only their second lead of the game when Takesha Riggs made a layup to put Fort Valley up by one with 31 seconds left.
Haven managed to bail VSU out in the end.
“Excellence and success are some times not pretty, but heart always shines through,” Lady Blazers coach Kiley Hill said. “We had to make plays late as well as defensive stops. That’s heart as well as refusal to accept defeat.”
The Lady Blazers started with four 3-pointers to gain an early 12-4 lead. Sczeny Hartry hit two while Matthews and Thompson each made one. Then VSU’s forwards chipped in with three baskets.
Brittany Daniels made two buckets in the post, and Nixon ran the floor to finish a long pass from Matthews.
After that, Thompson buried two more threes to put VSU ahead 24-12. The Lady Blazers closed the half on a 4-0 run to lead 28-15 at the break.
VSU’s first half defense held Fort Valley State to just 18.5 percent shooting from the field while the Lady Blazers shot 40.7 percent overall and 50 percent from long range.
Both teams traded baskets early in the second half, but the Lady Wildcats were able to close the gap to 37-28 on a 3-pointer from Bianca Thornton with 12:53 left to play.
Thornton hit another three and Riggs scored on two layups for Fort Valley. Yasheeka Jones made a spinning move in the lane to pull within six points, 43-37.
Over the course of four minutes, the Lady Blazers were only able to score on three free throws while Fort Valley State’s KaDeidra Freeland made three consecutive field goals to close the gap to just three points, 46-43, with just under five minutes left.
The Lady Wildcats pulled within two points on a free throw from Freeland and claimed the lead, 47-46, on a 3-point play from Riggs.
VSU answered when Booker drew a foul and made both free throws to reclaim the lead.
Riggs made a layup at the other end of the court to make it 49-48 in favor of Fort Valley before Haven scored the game-winning bucket.
